Converter with feedback voltage referenced to output voltage with separate ground planes for converter and load

ABSTRACT

A driver for a white LED string or a display is provided. The driver includes a boost converter that is arranged to provide an output voltage from a source voltage. Also, the driver includes a sense resistor that is coupled between the output voltage and a feedback voltage. The sense resistor is coupled in series with the white LED string or the display. Further, the boost converter uses the sense voltage across the sense resistor to regulate the output voltage. In one embodiment, the boost converter includes a level shifter that converts the sense voltage into a comparison signal that is referenced to ground. In another embodiment, the converter employs a reference voltage that is referenced to the output voltage.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application is a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/073,035, filed on Mar. 4, 2005, entitled “CONVERTER WITH FEEDBACKVOLTAGE REFERENCED TO OUTPUT VOLTAGE,” and claims the benefit under 35U.S.C. §121, which is further incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) may be used for lighting in portableelectronics applications, and the like. For example, white LEDs may beused for back-lighting applications. Typically, several white LEDs arecoupled in series. A boost switching regulator may be employed toprovide a voltage across the white LEDs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the present invention aredescribed with reference to the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a circuit for driving an LEDstring or a display;

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of a circuit for drivingan LED string or a display in which the feedback voltage is referencedto Vout rather than ground;

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of the circuit ofFIG. 2 in which the boost converter includes a level-shift circuit;

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of the circuit of FIG. 3in which an embodiment of the level-shift circuit is schematicallyillustrated;

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of the circuit ofFIG. 2 in which the reference voltage is referenced to Vout;

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of the circuit of FIG. 5that includes a cut-off switch;

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of the circuit ofFIG. 3 in which the boost converter is synchronously rectified;

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of the boost converter ofFIG. 3 in which the boost converter is switched-capacitor based; and

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of the circuit ofFIG. 3 in which the control circuitry includes a pulse frequencymodulation circuit, arranged in accordance with aspects of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detailwith reference to the drawings, where like reference numerals representlike parts and assemblies throughout the several views. Reference tovarious embodiments does not limit the scope of the invention, which islimited only by the scope of the claims attached hereto. Additionally,any examples set forth in this specification are not intended to belimiting and merely set forth some of the many possible embodiments forthe claimed invention.

Throughout the specification and claims, the following terms take atleast the meanings explicitly associated herein, unless the contextdictates otherwise. The meanings identified below do not necessarilylimit the terms, but merely provide illustrative examples for the terms.The meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” includes plural reference, and themeaning of “in” includes “in” and “on.” The phrase “in one embodiment,”as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment,although it may. The term “coupled” means at least either a directelectrical connection between the items connected, or an indirectconnection through one or more passive or active intermediary devices.The term “circuit” means at least either a single component or amultiplicity of components, either active and/or passive, that arecoupled together to provide a desired function. The term “signal” meansat least one current, voltage, charge, temperature, data, or othersignal. Where either a field effect transistor (FET) or a bipolarjunction transistor (BJT) may be employed as an embodiment of atransistor, the scope of the words “gate”, “drain”, and “source”includes “base”, “collector”, and “emitter”, respectively, and viceversa.

Briefly stated, the invention is related to a driver for a white LEDstring or a display. The driver includes a boost converter that isarranged to provide an output voltage from a source voltage. Also, thedriver includes a sense resistor that is coupled between the outputvoltage and a feedback voltage. The sense resistor is coupled in serieswith the white LED string or the display. Further, the boost converteruses the sense voltage across the sense resistor to regulate the outputvoltage. In one embodiment, the boost converter includes a level shifterthat converts the sense voltage into a comparison signal that isreferenced to ground. In another embodiment, the converter employs areference voltage that is referenced to the output voltage.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of circuit 100. Circuit 100 includesbattery 105, inductor L1, diode D1, boost converter 110, outputcapacitor Cout, load 130, and sense resistor circuit R1. Load 130 may bea white LED string or a display.

Load 130 is coupled between output node N1 and feedback node N2. Senseresistor R1 is coupled between node N2 and ground GND₁. Sense resistorcircuit R1 is series-coupled with load 130 so that sense resistorcircuit R1 receives load current Iload. Accordingly, a voltage dropVsense given by Iload*R1 appears across resistor circuit R1. The voltageat node N2 is accordingly given by Iload*R1. The voltage at node N2 isreferenced to ground GND₁.

Also, boost converter 100 is configured to, in cooperation with inductorL1, diode D1, capacitor Cout, and sense resistor circuit R1, provideoutput voltage Vout from voltage VBAT, such that voltage Vout isregulated based on feedback signal FB at node N2. Signal FB isreferenced to ground plane GND₁, which is local to boost converter 100.Boost converter 100 may be included in an integrated circuit (IC).

However, circuit 100 is not suitable for certain applications. Forexample, in certain applications, it may be preferable for the displayor white LEDs to be separate from the boost converter IC and independentof grounding.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of circuit 200. Circuit200 includes battery 205, inductor L1, diode D1, boost converter 210,output capacitor Cout, load 230, and sense resistor circuit R2.

Ground GND₁ is a local ground plane for boost converter 210. In oneembodiment, ground GND₁ is a ground plane that is close to battery 205on a printed circuit board (PCB). GND₂ is a ground plane that isseparate from ground GND₁. In one embodiment, GND₂ is a ground plane ona PCB that is separate from the PCB that GND₁ is on. In anotherembodiment, GND₂ is a separate ground plane that is connected at battery205. In one embodiment, load 230 may be on a flip phone or similardevice, having GND₂ as a separate plane which is connected with wireswhich may include resistances, inductances, and the like. Accordingly,the voltage at GND₂ may move relative to the voltage at GND₁.

Also, load 230 is coupled between output node N3 and ground GND₂. In oneembodiment, load 230 is a string of series white LEDs. In anotherembodiment, load 230 is a display.

Further, sense resistor circuit R2 is coupled between output node N1 andfeedback node N3. Sense resistor circuit R2 is series-coupled with load230 so that sense resistor circuit R2 receives load current Iload.Accordingly, a voltage drop Vsense given by Iload*R2 appears acrossresistor circuit R2. The voltage at node N3 is accordingly given byVout−Iload*R2. The voltage at node N3 is referenced to output voltageVout.

Like circuit 100, circuit 200 is configured to, in conjunction withother circuit elements, regulate output voltage Vout based on feedbacksignal FB. However, in circuit 100, feedback signal FB is referenced toground. In contrast, in circuit 200, feedback signal FB is referenced tooutput voltage Vout rather than ground.

By regulating output voltage Vout based on a feedback signal that isreferenced to Vout rather than ground, ground plane GND₂ may be separatefrom ground plane GND₁. This provides more flexibility with the PCBlayout, allowing the vendor to keep the electronics located on one PCBwhile the display and/or white LEDs are separate and away from thedriver. Also, circuit 200 may provide improved immunity to traceresistance and inductance found in the display or LED bus line, GND₂, orthe connection at node N3.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of circuit 200 in which anasynchronous-rectified inductive-based boost converter is employed. Inanother embodiment, boost converter 210 is a synchronously-rectifiedconverter. In another embodiment, boost converter 210 is aswitched-capacitor based boost converter.

In one embodiment, sense resistor circuit R2 is a single resistor. Inanother embodiment, sense resistor circuit 12 includes two or moreresistors coupled in series and/or in parallel to provide a totalequivalent resistance.

In one embodiment, the components shown inside boost converter 210 inFIG. 2 are included together in an integrated circuit, and componentsshown outside of boost converter 210 in FIG. 2 are external to theintegrated circuit. In other embodiments, some of the components showninside boost converter 210 may be external to the integrated circuitand/or some of the components shown outside of boost converter 210 maybe internal to the integrated circuit. For example, in one embodiment,sense resistor circuit R2 is included in the integrated circuit, and inanother embodiment, sense resistor circuit R2 is external to theintegrated circuit.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of circuit 300.Circuit 300 may be employed as an embodiment of circuit 200 of FIG. 2.Boost converter 310 includes level-shift circuit 350, feedback circuit340, control circuitry 360, driver circuit DRV1, and power transistorM0.

In operation, level-shift circuit 350 provides comparison signal Compfrom signal FB by level-shifting signal FB such that signal Comp isreferenced to GND₁. Feedback circuit 340 is arranged to provide controlsignal Cnt1 from signal Comp and signal Ref. Signal Ref is a referencesignal that is referenced to ground. Also, control circuitry 360 isarranged to provide signal DRVIN from signal Cnt1. In one embodiment,feedback circuit 340 is an error amplifier, and control circuitry 360 isarranged to provide signal DRVIN such that a pulse width of signal DRVINis modulated based, in part, on control signal Cnt1. In anotherembodiment, feedback circuit 340 is a comparator, and control circuitry360 is arranged to provide signal DRVIN such that a frequency of signalDRVIN is modulated based, in part, on control signal Cnt1 (asillustrated in FIG. 9 in one embodiment).

In either case, driver circuit DRV1 may be arranged to provide switchcontrol signal SCTL based on signal DRVIN. Additionally, powertransistor M0 may be arranged to operate as a switch circuit that opensand closes based on switch control signal SCTL.

Although not shown in FIG. 3, in one embodiment, reference signal Refmay be provided by a voltage reference circuit that is arranged toprovide signal Ref.

In one embodiment, reference signal Ref may be adjustable based on anexternal signal that the brightness provided by load 330 is adjustable.In other embodiments, the brightness may be adjustable by adjusting theduty signal of an enable signal for boost converter 310.

Level-shift circuit 350 may be arranged to operate as follows. Aresistor circuit (not shown in FIG. 3) in level-shift circuit 350 isarranged such that a voltage drop across the resistor circuit is equalto the voltage drop across sense resistor circuit R2, and furtherarranged to provide a current responsive to the voltage drop across it.An impedance circuit (not shown in FIG. 3) coupled between node N5 andGND₁ receives the current and provides signal Comp at node N5. Anembodiment of level-shift 350 is illustrated and described withreference to FIG. 4 below.

Although transistor M0 is shown as a MOSFET in FIG. 3, in otherembodiments, a type of transistor other than a MOSFET may be usedinstead.

In one embodiment, the components shown inside boost converter 310 inFIG. 3 are included together in an integrated circuit, and componentsshown outside of boost converter 310 in FIG. 3 are external to theintegrated circuit. In other embodiments, some of the components showninside boost converter 310 may be external to the integrated circuitand/or some of the components shown outside of boost converter 310 maybe internal to the integrated circuit. For example, in one embodiment,sense resistor circuit R2 is included in the integrated circuit, and inanother embodiment, sense resistor circuit R2 is external to theintegrated circuit. As another example, in one embodiment, powertransistor M0 is included in the integrated circuit, an in anotherembodiment, power transistor M0 is external to the integrated circuit.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of circuit 300 in which anasynchronous-rectified inductive-based boost converter is employed. Inother embodiments, circuit 300 may be a synchronously-rectifiedconverter, as illustrated in FIG. 7 and discussed below in oneembodiment. In other embodiments, circuit 300 may be aswitched-capacitor based boost converter rather than inductive-based, asillustrated in FIG. 8 and discussed below in one embodiment.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of the circuit 400, whichmay be employed as an embodiment of circuit 300 of FIG. 3. Level-shiftcircuit 450 includes transistors Q0-Q7 and resistor circuits R3-R5.

Transistors Q1, Q3, and Q6 are configured to operate as a currentmirror, and transistors Q4 and Q7 are configured to operate as anothercurrent mirror. The base-emitter junctions of transistors Q5, Q6, Q1,and Q0 are arranged to operate as a translinear loop so that the voltageat node N4 is substantially equal to the voltage at node N3. That is,the voltage at node N4 is given byFB−VBE_(Q5)−VBE_(Q6)+VBE_(Q1)+VBE_(Q0), or approximately FB.Accordingly, the voltage across resistor circuit R3 is substantiallyequal to the voltage across resistor circuit R2. The current throughresistor circuit R3 is substantially given by Vsense/R3. Further, thecurrent through resistor circuit R5, current I1, is substantially thesame as the current through resistor circuit R3, so that the voltagedrop across resistor circuit R5 is substantially given byVsense*(R5/R3). Accordingly, the voltage at node N5 is substantiallygiven by Vsense*(R5/R3), referenced to ground GND₁.

Additionally, resistor circuit R4 and transistors Q2, Q3, Q4, and Q7 areoptional circuit elements in level-shift circuit 450 that are arrangedto operate as a feedback loop to keep current I1 at a substantiallyfixed value in spite of noise and other spurious effects.

Transistors Q0-Q7 are illustrated as BJTs in FIG. 4. In otherembodiments, types of transistors other than BJTs may be employed. Also,each of the resistor circuits R3-R5 may include one or more resistors.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of circuit 500.Circuit 500 may be employed as another embodiment of circuit 200 of FIG.2. Components in circuit 500 may be arranged to operate in a similarmanner to similarly-named components previously discussed, and mayoperate in a different manner in some ways.

Feedback circuit 540 operates in a similar manner as discussed abovewith regard to feedback circuit 340 of FIG. 3, except that, instead ofreceiving ground-referenced signals, feedback circuit 540 receivessignals referenced to output voltage Vout. Unlike the reference circuitdiscussed above with regard to FIG. 3, reference circuit 580 is arrangedto provide signal Ref such that signal Ref is referenced to outputvoltage Vout. Feedback circuit 540 is arranged to receive signal Ref atits inverting input, and receive signal FB as a comparison signal at itsnoninverting input. Further, feedback circuit 540 is arranged to providesignal Cnt1 based on signals Ref and FB.

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of circuit 600. Circuit600 is an embodiment of circuit 500 of FIG. 5. Circuit 600 furtherincludes transistor M2 and PMOS drive circuit 690. Transistor M2 isarranged to operate as a cut-off switch responsive to PMOS drive circuit690. The cut-off switching is employed to limit leakage currents and toenhance brightness control.

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of circuit 700.Circuit 700 may be employed as an embodiment of circuit 200, 300, or 400above. Boost converter 710 is a synchronously-rectified converter whichincludes driver circuit DRV2 and power transistor M1 instead of diodeD1.

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of circuit 800.Circuit 800 may be employed as an embodiment of circuit 200, 300, or 400above. Components in circuit 800 may operate in a substantially similarmanner to similar-named components discussed in previous figures, andmay operate in a different manner in some ways.

Circuit 800 further includes capacitors C1-C2 and diodes D2 and D3.Boost converter 810 includes transistors M2 and M3, driver circuits DRV3and DRV4, oscillator circuit 870, error amplifier 840, resistor circuitR5, and level-shift circuit 850. Boost converter 810 is aswitched-capacitor based boost converter. Also, level-shift circuit 850is arranged to operate in a substantially similar manner as describedabove with regard to level-shift circuit 350 of FIG. 3. Driver circuitDRV4 is arranged to modulate the on-resistance of transistor M3.

The above specification, examples and data provide a description of themanufacture and use of the composition of the invention. Since manyembodiments of the invention can be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention, the invention also resides in theclaims hereinafter appended.

1. A circuit for driving a load, comprising: a first ground plane; asecond ground plane that is separate from the first ground plane,wherein the load is coupled to the second ground plane, and wherein theload includes at least one of a white LED string and a display; a senseresistor circuit that is coupled between an output voltage node and afeedback voltage node such that the sense resistor circuit is coupled inseries with the load, wherein the sense resistor is arranged to receivean output voltage at the output voltage node, and to provide thefeedback voltage based on a load current through the load such that thefeedback voltage is referenced to the output voltage; a boost converterthat is arranged to regulate the output voltage based on the feedbackvoltage, wherein the first ground plane is local to the boost converter;and a level-shift circuit that is arranged to provide a comparisonsignal from the feedback voltage such that the comparison signal isreferenced to ground.
 2. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the boostconverter includes: a feedback circuit having at least a first input anda second input, wherein the feedback circuit is arranged to receive areference signal at the first input; to receive a feedback voltage atthe second input; and to provide a control signal that is based, inpart, on the reference signal and the comparison signal, wherein thefeedback circuit includes at least one of an error amplifier and acomparator; a switch circuit; and a driver circuit that is arranged todrive the switch circuit based, in part, on the control signal such thatthe output voltage is regulated based, in part, on the control signal.3. The circuit of claim 2, wherein the boost converter further includes:a voltage reference circuit that is configured to provide the referencesignal such that the reference signal is referenced to the outputvoltage, wherein the comparison signal is the feedback voltage.
 4. Thecircuit of claim 2, wherein the sense resistor is arranged such that thefeedback voltage is referenced to the output voltage rather than groundsuch that a voltage difference between the feedback voltage and theoutput voltage is approximately proportional to the load current.
 5. Thecircuit of claim 2, wherein the boost converter further includes: apulse width modulation control circuit that is arranged to provide apulse width modulation output signal such that a pulse width of thepulse width modulation output signal is modulated based on the controlsignal, wherein the feedback circuit is the error amplifier, and whereinthe driver circuit is arranged to drive the switch circuit based on thepulse width modulation output signal.
 6. The circuit of claim 2, whereinthe boost converter further includes: a pulse frequency modulationcircuit that is arranged to provide a pulse frequency modulation outputsignal such that a frequency of the pulse frequency modulation signal ismodulated based on the control signal, wherein the feedback circuit isthe comparator, and wherein the driver circuit is arranged to drive theswitch circuit based on the pulse frequency modulation output signal. 7.The circuit of claim 2, wherein the feedback circuit is the erroramplifier, and wherein the driver circuit is arranged to modulate anon-resistance of the switch circuit based on the control signal.
 8. Thecircuit of claim 1, wherein the boost converter further includes: avoltage reference circuit that is configured to provide the referencesignal such that the reference signal is referenced to the ground,wherein the level-shift circuit includes: a first resistor circuit,wherein the level-shift circuit is arranged such that a first-resistorvoltage across the first resistor circuit is substantially equal to thefeedback voltage, and further arranged to provide a first-resistorcurrent responsive to the first-resistor voltage; and an impedancecurrent coupled between ground and the second input of the feedbackcircuit, wherein the impedance circuit is arranged to provide thecomparison signal based, in part, on the first-resistor current.
 9. Thecircuit of claim 1, wherein the level-shift circuit includes: atransistor having at least an emitter, a collector that is coupled to anoutput node, and a base that is coupled to the feedback voltage, whereinthe transistor is arranged to receive the output voltage at the outputnode; a first resistor that is coupled between the output node andanother node; a translinear loop that is arranged such that a resistorvoltage at the other node is substantially equal to a voltage at theemitter of the first transistor, wherein the translinear loop includes abase-emitter junction of the transistor; and wherein the first resistoris arranged to provide a first-resistor current based on a voltage dropacross the first resistor; and an impedance circuit coupled betweenground and the second input of the feedback circuit, wherein theimpedance circuit is arranged to provide the comparison signal based, inpart, on the first-resistor current.
 10. The circuit of claim 9, whereinthe boost converter further includes: a current loop control circuitthat is arranged to provide negative feedback for the first-resistorcurrent, wherein the current loop control circuit includes at least partof the translinear loop.
 11. A circuit for driving a load, comprising: afirst ground plane; a second ground plane that is separate from thefirst ground plane, wherein the load is coupled to the second groundplane, and wherein the load includes at least one of a white LED stringand a display; a sense resistor circuit that is coupled between anoutput voltage node and a feedback voltage node such that the senseresistor circuit is coupled in series with the load, wherein the senseresistor is arranged to receive an output voltage at the output voltagenode, and to provide the feedback voltage based on a load currentthrough the load such that the feedback voltage is referenced to theoutput voltage; and a boost converter that is arranged to regulate theoutput voltage based on the feedback voltage, wherein the first groundplane is local to the boost converter, and wherein the boost converterincludes: a feedback circuit having at least a first input and a secondinput, wherein the feedback circuit is arranged to receive a referencesignal at the first input, wherein the reference signal is referenced tothe output voltage; to receive a feedback voltage at the second input;and to provide a control signal that is based, in part, on the referencesignal and the comparison signal, wherein the feedback circuit includesat least one of an error amplifier and a comparator; a switch circuit;and a driver circuit that is arranged to drive the switch circuit based,in part, on the control signal such that the output voltage is regulatedbased, in part, on the control signal.